North Sumatra Police officers have shot dead three suspects allegedly belonging to an international drug syndicate in two separate arrests recently in Deli Serdang, a senior police officer has said. 

North Sumatra Police deputy chief Brig. Gen. Agus Andrianto said Monday two suspects were gunned down on Friday on Jl. Letda Sudjono in Deli Serdang after they resisted the arrest.  

"Our detectives found 1 kilogram of crystal meth wrapped in yellow plastic bags for Chinese tea, labeled 'Guan Yin Wang,' upon search of their minivan," Agus said as quoted by Antara.

Following up on the case, the police later shot dead another suspect who was riding in a black sedan on Jl. Pendidikan, also in Deli Serdang. Police seized another 2 kg of crystal meth from him, bringing the total amount of confiscated drugs to 3 kilograms. 

The bodies of the suspects were later taken to the Bhayangkara Police Hospital in Medan for autopsies.

The suspected drug traffickers were residents of Aceh and Riau provinces. They are believed to have belonged to the Malaysia-Aceh-Pekan Baru-Medan international drug ring. (dmr)